A. A person who allegedly has been a victim of domestic abuse may request the assistance of a local law enforcement agency.
B. A local law enforcement officer responding to the request for assistance shall be required to take whatever steps are reasonably necessary to protect the victim from further domestic abuse, including:
(1) advising the victim of the remedies available under the Family Violence Protection Act; the right to file a written statement, a criminal complaint and a request for an arrest warrant; and the availability of domestic violence shelters, medical care, counseling and other services;
(2) upon the request of the victim, providing or arranging for transportation of the victim to a medical facility or place of shelter;
(3) upon the request of the victim, accompanying the victim to the victim's residence to obtain the victim's clothing and personal effects required for immediate needs and the clothing and personal effects of any children then in the care of the victim;
(4) upon the request of the victim, assist in placing the victim in possession of the dwelling or premises or otherwise assist in execution, enforcement or service of an order of protection;
(5) arresting the alleged perpetrator when appropriate and including a written statement in the attendant police report to indicate that the arrest of the alleged perpetrator was, in whole or in part, premised upon probable cause to believe that the alleged perpetrator committed domestic abuse against the victim and, when appropriate, indicate that the party arrested was the predominant aggressor; and
(6) advising the victim when appropriate of the procedure for initiating proceedings under the Family Violence Protection Act or criminal proceedings and of the importance of preserving evidence.
C. The jail or detention center shall make a reasonable attempt to notify the arresting law enforcement agency or officer when the alleged perpetrator is released from custody. The arresting law enforcement agency shall make a reasonable attempt to notify the victim that the alleged perpetrator is released from custody.
D. Any law enforcement officer responding to a request for assistance under the Family Violence Protection Act is immune from civil liability to the extent allowed by law. Any jail, detention center or law enforcement agency that makes a reasonable attempt to provide notification that an alleged perpetrator is released from custody is immune from civil liability to the extent allowed by law.
E. A statement shall be included in a judgment and sentence document to indicate when a conviction results from the commission of domestic abuse.
History: Laws 1987, ch. 286, § 7; 1995, ch. 54, § 1; 2008, ch. 40, § 9.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2008 amendment, effective July 1, 2008, changed "petitioner" to "victim" and "abusing household member" to "alleged perpetrator"; in Paragraph (1) of Subsection B, authorized a law enforcement officer to file a criminal complaint; and in Paragraph (5) of Subsection B, authorized a law enforcement officer to indicate that the party arrested was the predominant aggressor.
The 1995 amendment, effective July 1, 1995, added "providing notification to victims when an abusing household member is released from detention; statement in judgment and sentence document" in the section heading, added the language beginning "and including a written statement" at the end in Paragraph (5) of Subsection B, added Subsections C and E, redesignated former Subsection C as Subsection D, and added the second sentence in Subsection D.
Provisions of Article not to be pretext for search. — An arrest under the Family Violence Protection Act was not authorized where the victim of abuse was no longer in danger and the arrest of the alleged abuser was a mere pretext to search for drugs. State v. Miller, 1997-NMCA-060, 123 N.M. 507, 943 P.2d 541.
Family Violence Protection Act does not circumvent warrant requirement. — Where officers responded to a domestic violence call made by defendant's girlfriend, who had been staying at defendant's apartment for a few days, the officers' entry into the apartment and subsequent discovery and seizure of drug paraphernalia was not valid under the community caretaker doctrine or any other exception to the warrant requirement, because defendant had already left the apartment and the officers did not have credible and specific information that a victim was likely to be located at a particular place and in need of immediate aid to avoid great bodily harm or death, and although the Family Violence Protection Act contemplates law enforcement assistance to protect a victim of domestic violence from further abuse when retrieving items from inside the victim's residence, it does not circumvent the requirement that only a genuine emergency will justify entering and searching a residence without a warrant and without consent, and in this case there was no indication of an emergency inside the apartment justifying a warrantless entry. State v. Ramos, 2017-NMCA-041.
Arrest without a warrant. — A law enforcement officer may arrest, without a warrant, an offender who commits a misdemeanor domestic violence offense and leaves the scene prior to the officer's arrival, provided that the arrest is reasonably prompt and reasonably necessary to protect the victim. 2005 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 05-05.